on the other side of the debate astronaut mark kelly, whose wife former congresswoman gabrielle giffords was badly injured in the tucson shooting in 2011. gun owner himself, kelly will argue today that assault weapons like the one that was used to wound his wife and kill six others don't belong on the streets. the politics of gun safety are complicated on capitol hill. even some of the most liberal senators are supporters of gun rights, including senator patrick leahy of vermont, who will be chairing thood's inging today's hearing. harry reid was noncommittal when asked of what he thought was an assault weapons ban introduced by his colleague, dianne feinstein. >> she believes in it fervently and i admire her for that. i'll take a look at that. >> reporter: any moves to restrict gun ownership will be met with fierce opposition from the right. >> gun violence is not a disease, and lawful gun ownership is not a disease. it is a constitutionally protected individual right. >> reporter: gun laws in the district of columbia are pretty strict but a pair of republican senators who are on the co